Full list of goodies FG proposes to give Nigerians as palliative

On Thursday, July 20, 2023 the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) celebrated the deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry with the importation of 27 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as petrol for local consumption by a local company.

The move was in contrast to the monopoly of the importation of the product into the country in the past few years by the National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

Labour unions, Nigerians fume over petrol price increase

"When we talk about deregulation, people just think about price increases. Actually, it is not; it is opening up the space for more participation," Bashir Sadiq, the Executive Director, of Corporate Services and Administration, NMDPRA said at a ceremony to mark the first importation of petrol into the country by a private operator.

The marketer had taken advantage of the May 29, 2023 'subsidy is gone' declaration in the inauguration speech of President Bola Tinubu to import the 27 million litres of petrol said to cost $17 million into the country. But it is doubtful if most Nigerians will be bothered.

Nigerians were still grappling with the rising cost of living and transportation after the 'subsidy is gone' statement led to an increase in the price of petrol from an average of less than N200 to about N520 per litre when the NNPCL further jacked up prices at its outlets to N617 on Monday. Other marketers adjusted their costs with the product selling for N620 and N637 in parts of the country.

The initial increase after May 29 led to soaring cost of living, with many motorists being forced to abandon their vehicles due to inability to afford the cost of petrol. On the other hand, many commuters were forced to reduce their regularity of outings. Indeed, some state government reduced their workdays from five to two or three days a week as a relief for their employees.

According to a recent report by Phillips Consulting Limited, over 90 percent of Nigerians aged 18 have had to reduce their spending on essential and non-essential items due to the increased cost of living. The World Bank had also warned that many more Nigerians would become poor due to the hike in the price of petrol following the removal of fuel subsidy by the Tinubu administration.

Anger trails increase in petrol price

However, the increase in the price of petrol has further increased the agony of Nigerians. Nigerians were still waiting for the palliatives promised by the government when the latest increase in the price of the product happened.

Hence, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, described the increase as provocative and designed to worsen the poverty level and hardship Nigeria is passing through.

"We woke up this morning (Tuesday) to the news that NNPCL has increased the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from the hitherto draconian N500/litre to N617/litre," Joe Ajaero said.

"What the government has done is capable of pushing Nigerian people to the edge of the precipice and can trigger a raging fire that may overwhelm whatsoever mechanisms the government thinks it has put in place as safeguards," the NLC said.